COUNTY NEWS: Helicopter flights offered as alternative to Southern – for one week only

An energy drink company has decided to put on helicopter flights from Sussex to London in the first week of the new rail timetable.

Carabao Energy urged passengers to avoid commuter chaos, by taking its 30-minute helicopter service from Shoreham Airport to London Battersea.

The company said: "London’s newest commuter travel alternative is designed to give a select number of long-suffering Southern Rail passengers the positive energy boost they need to get through their day and get to work on time, just like the drink itself!"

For a chance to grab a seat, all passengers need to do is keep their eyes peeled for the flight check in announcements from @CarabaoUK on Twitter from today (May 21), and share a post with the hashtag #CarabaoCopterSOS

John Luck, chief marketing officer of Carabao UK, said: “More than ever, commuters are living increasingly busy and bonkers daily lives. As a commuter from Brighton myself, I understand those Southern Fail moments – sometimes you just need a boost to get you through.

"That’s why we’ve launched the Carabao Commuter ‘Copter for passengers impacted by the timetable changes, to help them avoid commuter chaos. We may even look at rolling this out across other UK cities in the near future!”